BlackRock’s Shigekawa Sees Risk to Yen on BOJ Miscommunication

There could be risks to the yen if the Bank of Japan fails to prepare the market for a June interest-rate hike at the next policy meeting, according to BlackRock's Japan Managing Director and Portfolio Manager. Speaking at a panel moderated by Lisa Du at the 2026 Bloomberg New Voices Tokyo event, Rie Shigekawa told Lisa Du that market expectations for the central bank to raise rates next week have diminished since the Middle East conflict broke out. Former BOJ board member and Keio University Economics Professor Sayuri Shirai also said that if the market concludes that the BOJ is falling behind the curve and unwilling to raise rates, that would be a trigger for a cheaper yen. (Source: Bloomberg)